Promo Post: Another Girl By Allison Burnett

Back in August I was contacted by Lauren from Shooting Stars Mag and asked if I might be interested in doing a promo for his new book.  It's not necessarily my normal type of book, since it's really NA as opposed to YA, but the story sounded interesting because it does have to do with online friendships and other types of online relationships. And so I wanted to talk about the online friendships I feel I have, both the ones that are just online, as well as the ones where I've actually been able to meet them in person!

I feel like I have had online friendships for a long time, since clear back in the late 90s.  I belonged to an online discussion group on AOL for people who loved dachshunds.  One of them was so nice that when I had a science teacher conference in Phoenix, Arizona, where she lived, she came and picked me up from the airport and drove me to the hotel.  She even took me out for dinner one night that I was there as well. 

In more recent times with Twitter, Facebook, and blogging, I've had more opportunities to talk to authors online, as well as even get to meet them!  The first one I want to talk about is Cara Lynn Shultz.  Her book, Spellbound, was actually the first e-galley I ever got.  And as I read it, I first looked to find her on Twitter, as I do for any new author, and she followed along with me as I read and loved and reviewed her book.  We became good "Twitter buddies" and found all kinds of things we had in common. We both loved New Kids on the Block when we were younger (I still do) and listened to the same kinds of music, as well as loved movies like Twilight.  When my younger sister moved to NYC, I was tweeting about all the places I went to visit when I got to go stay with her.  And when I suggested maybe we could meet somewhere, she said yes!  We ended up meeting in a public place, over by the New York Public Library that is located by Bryant Park.  It was November, so we went to a little bar they had in the park by the ice skating rink. We talked for hours!  Then she took me and my sister to see a little speakeasy in Grand Central Station, and we talked even longer.  Here we are that first night when I got to meet her.

Another author that I had followed online, and then recognized while standing in line at my first BEA in 2012 was Michelle Madow.  But I didn't even think to ask for a picture with her until the last time I saw her, my 2nd time at BEA in 2014.  And then I had just tweeted about hoping to run into her when she walked right by me while I was in line to see Becca Fitzpatrick.  Here we are:

I feel like I haven't had as much chance to meet a lot of bloggers in person as I would like to. In fact at times, I feel the blogging world can be a little "clique-ish", as I've had bloggers I knew were somewhere at BEA, but the didn't seem to want to meet up.  Others I've met in line at conferences and immediately had great conversations and definitely made friends with.  But there are many that I feel I talk to regularly and that we do make sure to go back and forth and comment on each others' blogs all the time, even if we may never get to meet in person.

Okay, enough about me.  Let me talk a little about this book that I'm sharing with you today.  Another Girl is actually a sequel to another book by the author, Undiscovered Gyrl, which was made into a movie that is now available on Netflix, called Ask Me Anything.

Here is the Goodreads blurb for the first book:

Only on the internet can you have so many friends and be so lonely.
Beautiful, wild, funny, and lost, Katie Kampenfelt is taking a year off before college to find her passion. Ambitious in her own way, Katie intends to do more than just smoke weed with her boyfriend, Rory, and work at the bookstore. She plans to seduce Dan, a thirty-two-year-old film professor.
Katie chronicles her adventures in an anonymous blog, telling strangers her innermost desires, shames, and thrills. But when Dan stops taking her calls, when her alcoholic father suffers a terrible fall, and when she finds herself drawn into a dangerous new relationship, Katie's fearless narrative begins to crack, and dark pieces of her past emerge.
Sexually frank, often heartbreaking, and bursting with devilish humor, Undiscovered Gyrl is an extraordinarily accomplished novel of identity, voyeurism, and deceit.


Purchase links for Undiscovered Gyrl:
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307473120/ref=x_gr_w_bb?ie=UTF8&tag=httpwwwgoodco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0307473120&SubscriptionId=1MGPYB6YW3HWK55XCGG2
Barnes and Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/undiscovered-gyrl-allison-burnett/1103375212?ean=9780307473127

 Purchase link for Another Girl:
Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Another-Girl-Allison-Burnett/dp/1516887514/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440376812&sr=8-1&keywords=another+girl 

Here's the movie poster:

I haven't seen it, but I am a fan of Justin Long, so may have to check it out soon!

So, do you have any awesome online friendships you'd like to share?  I'd love to hear about them!

Review: The Diviners by Libba Bray

I've had this sitting on my TBR shelf since the summer of 2012 when I attended BEA and received an ARC of it.  I really didn't know much about it, and that's part of why it sat for so long.  When I did see reviews of it, I knew I needed to read it.  But then, I think the sheer size of it kept me from picking it up until now.  I rated it 4 stars on Goodreads, although actually it'd be more like a 4.5.  My only complaint is probably at the very end.  Or maybe the length.  I feel that everything tied together really well until we get to the end, and the problem is basically solved, for this instance at least.  And then the story goes on to basically set up a sequel.  But the little stories that set up for that were really kind of confusing.  All I know for sure, is that something big is still out there, and a storm is coming.  So, not sure when a sequel comes out, but maybe I'll be able to get an ARC of it when I go to BEA this coming summer.

The blurb on Goodreads talks about one main character, Evie.  And yes, she really is the central character, but there are so many more side stories, almost more than is even let on in what few names are brought up in that blurb.  Evie has been sent to New York City to live with her Uncle Will after something disgraces her in the small town she is from.  Evie has this ability to see things about people by just touching something that belongs to them.  And when she lets out information about a certain engaged guy having a possible pregnancy with someone other than his fiancee, she is then sent away.  Which actually, is fine by Evie.  She can't wait to get to NYC and really be a part of the scene.  Evie is kind of a flapper in a way.  She's got her hair short, she speaks the lingo, and enjoys her drinks, even in this age of prohibition.  When she gets to NYC, she finds out that her Uncle's museum is one that is not that big, it is a museum of the occult and other supernatural things.  And when strange murders begin taking place in the city, the police come to him for help with the strange symbols and way the bodies are found.  Without even thinking, Evie touches a piece of the victim's clothing and finds that maybe she can help with her ability.  At first however she doesn't say anything to her Uncle, not knowing how he will take it.

There is one person who knows about Evie's ability, her friend Mabel, who lives in her Uncle's building and has been her pen pal.  Evie is so glad to have a friend, and takes Mabel under her wing, getting her out and about in the city, as well as trying to help her get matched up with Evie's Uncle Will's assistant Jericho, who Mabel has a bit of a crush on.  We learn that Jericho has a secret as well, although we're not quite told what it is until a big moment towards the very end of the story.

Then there is the glamorous chorus girl Theta, who works at the Ziegfeld Follies, and her "brother" Henry, who also live in the same building.  Mabel introduces Evie to them, and soon they all become friends.  Theta and Henry have their own secrets, ones that we don't really learn much about until towards the end as well.

Another big character that we spend time with is a boy named Memphis.  Memphis used to be a healer, we don't know exactly what changed, other than it had something to do with when his mother died.  And now his younger brother Isaiah seems to have an ability, and Memphis is helping, along with another woman in the neighborhood, his brother to hone the skills.

One other main character/storyline I will mention is Sam, a con artist that Evie meets when she first gets to NYC, arriving in Grand Central Station.  He also has a past, and a bit of an ability, and his storyline is one that will lead us on in the sequel I guess.

Okay, the reason I complained about the length, this was a very detailed story.  Not that this is a bad thing, just that there was a lot to take in, so it took a while to read it all.  Again, not a bad thing.  Although I can see how this could have been split into two or maybe three books the way many teen books are today.  Again, that doesn't need to be done, look at books like Twilight and Harry Potter, both very long books.  And Harry Potter is definitely as in depth as this book is.  I can see that The Diviners is a book I could read a second, third, or more times, and probably pick up something I missed each time.  A great story, just know that you'll need to set the time to read it, and be prepared to give it your full attention.  Unlike some stories this in depth I wasn't ever confused about who I was reading about, although once or twice I did go back a few pages, or to a different section with that character to try to remember exactly what I'd read about that situation the day before.

The bad guy was evil, and there was no cop out, in my opinion, it was done very well.  I also really enjoyed reading about places I may have been in NYC, and also places I might now want to visit next time I go.